Wednesday, January 1, 2014

Happy 2014!

I can't believe it's been six months since I've blogged. That's the longest I've gone in five years of blogging.

We've had a busy, busy six months. I'm sure you have too!

Katie has spent some more time at doctor's appointments. She's failed two more hearing tests on the right side, but nobody seems too concerned with that. Um, other than me. Her tubes are starting to work their way out, and I completely expect her to get another set. Before that, I'm going to insist on another hearing test, because I think that the hearing on the right side may be effecting her speech development. With all of that said, I'm not overly concerned with it. We'll get it worked out one way or another.

We also FINALLY got an x-ray of her dislocated hip! HALLELUJAH! I never thought I'd be so happy and excited to see a bone out of the socket. She is scheduled {again} for a femoral and pelvic osteotomy on the left side. She's currently scheduled for late March, though we're hoping for a cancellation spot to open up before then. Her doctor estimates 4-8 hours for surgery and then 3-4 days in the hospital and 6-ish weeks in a spica cast. Good times! We're trying to have no expectations so we're not disappointed about how hard it will be. I hate for her to have to go through it, but I am looking forward to some resolution. . . hopefully.

In August we celebrated Chris' birthday.

We also had first days of school. Kindergarten for Jack, fourth grade for David, third grade for Henry.

And Kindergarten for this sweet thing. She started at a new school with about 60% of her day in a general education class and 40% of her day in a special education class. There have been a lot of bumps in this road, and we're slowly working them out. Inclusion into a general education class has not been an easy process for us, but we're not giving up. That's a whole other blog post for a different day.

We took a trip to Washington D.C., which everyone loved. It was a surprise for the kids, and we had an awesome time.

We loved D.C., and we'll definitely go back. I felt like we only got to see and do a tiny fraction of what's there.

We also got to see these sweeties and their mama, which made my heart very happy.

We had a fun Halloween. Gone are the days of me picking cute costumes for them to wear. Katie loved going to everyone's house and saying "Trick treat!" More than that, she liked handing out the candy at our own house. She was a great helper.

We had a fabulous Thanksgiving at Gigi and Grampy's house. My grandparents came to visit, which was wonderful. My only favorite cousin and his girlfriend came also, which was a surprise for everyone. It was a great weekend, and I wish they all never had to leave.

Four generations of my mom's side of the family, including my grandparents with all of their grandchildren and great-grandchildren. I love this!

We surprised the kids with a trip to Disney for Christmas. They were shocked!

We've been having a great time. Disney at Christmas is some crowded business. That doesn't always translate well with a child with sensory issues, but we're having a lot of fun.

I think they all loved the beach more than Disney. . . something to think about for the next time, for sure.

Most of my last six months has been spent sewing. In July, I launched my little sewing business, The Crazy Kukla Boutique. That little venture was far, far busier than I ever could have imagined. It turned into a second full-time job. I would come home from work and start working on sewing until 11:00 or midnight, every night. I made almost 200 Little Mama Diaper Bag sets between July 1st and December 23rd. I had 96 sales through my etsy shop during that time period, and easily twice that through my Facebook page. Chris would spend large portions of his day cutting things out for me so they were ready for me to sew at night. I could never have made it through the Christmas season without him and his help. I bought a monogramming machine, which I am in love with, and that made me even busier. I absolutely love my sewing business, but I didn't want a second full-time job, nor did I ever, ever anticipate that it would turn into one. I was completely overwhelmed and stressed during Christmas trying to get the orders done. And for what? Sure, I made some extra money. I made a lot of cute things. I had a lot of sales. I don't think, in the end, it's worth it. I am going to cut way, way back with the sewing in 2014. I'm still figuring out what that will mean for The Crazy Kukla Boutique, but I'll figure it out.

I hope you had a wonderful 2013. I'm looking forward to what 2014 will bring.

6 comments:

I just wanted to comment because I think your blog needs some since you have been such a blog slacker. I am also so jealous you went to disney at christmas even though i know its bananas there this time of year. I still totally want to see it at this time of year :)

Well, hooray! I've been checking every week for a new post. I couldn't believe there were no 1st day of school pics, then no Halloween pics, then no Thanksgiving... But, here now we have them all. Good job catching us up! :) Let us know when Katie has surgery.

Lovely update!I just wanted to comment on Katie not hearing in one ear and its impact on speech. I imagine it's a little different in a child than an adult since their brains are still forming lots of connections to do with speech and hearing but here's my experience as a 30 year old.I had unilateral sudden onset sensorineural hearing loss in my left ear. Because it was sensorineural I couldn't just a get a hearing aid and hear again. I spent 5 years this way and during that time not only did I get very frustrated at the effect it had on my social experiences (it was extremely difficult to filter out background noise, focus on a single person's voice in a group, and hear anyone talking from my left side), it also seemed to affect my speech even though I'd been talking (some say non-stop) for 30 years. My husband was always complaining that I was mumbling. I didn't feel like I sounded any different, but I sure heard it from lots of people and it makes sense since in a group or noisy situation everyone else sounded kind of mumbly to me.I finally had surgery to get an implant for a bone anchored hearing aid. A sound processor snaps onto my left side of my skull and translates all those voices coming form the left into vibrations in my skull which then travel to my right inner ear that still works. My husband noticed that I mumble much less now. I'll often say something in the morning and he'll look at me and say, "You haven't put your hearing aid on yet, have you?" The family can really tell a difference. I also enjoy social situations again because it no longer requires massive amounts of concentration and energy to half way follow the conversation. I can even sit anywhere I want now instead of strategically placing myself with every person to my right. The BAHA is not as good as having my hearing back but it's made a huge difference. My advice is if you continue to feel that Katie's speech is being affected and she keeps failing the hearing test you look into seeing an audiologist who can let you try some things out. The BAHA for instance can be worn on a very tight headband so you can try it out before surgery (not as good as the implant but gives you an idea). They may have similar other trial devices for other hearing aid options. Good luck, I know you obviously have a lot on your plate.

I wrote a long comment about Katie's failed hearing tests that seems to have disappeared, so here's a shorter version. I lost my hearing in one ear as an adult and according to my husband, after that I mumbled a lot even though I thought I sounded normal. I had tons of trouble understanding speech when there was background noise, multiple people talking or the person was to my left (my bad side). After 5 years I ended up having surgery to get a BAHA implant that allows me to hear the sounds on my left side in my right ear. Now when I'm wearing it my husband says I don't mumble anymore and it's made social situations and being around people pleasurable again. Before, the mental concentrations it took to follow a conversation in an even moderately noisy settings was so exhausting I usually didn't bother going to events.Some devices like the BAHA can be tried out in the audiologist's office. YOu can wear the BAHA on a tight head band to get a feel for it and there may be other things that you can try temporarily as well.Good luck!